The Candidate is an Assistant Professor who plans a career as a patient-oriented independent clinical[unreadable] investigator and epidemiologist focused on health disparities and advanced lung diseases such as[unreadable] pulmonary fibrosis. His training plan includes mentored didactic and practical experience in (1) health[unreadable] disparities research, (2) clinical trials, and (3) advanced epidemiology and biostatistical training within the[unreadable] Division of Pulmonary, Allergy, and Critical Care Medicine of Columbia University, the NCMHD-funded[unreadable] Columbia Center for the Health of Urban Minorities, and Columbia University's Mailman School of Public[unreadable] Health. The proposed research plan will be carried out in Columbia's Clinical and Translational Science[unreadable] Award (CTSA)-funded Irving Center for Clinical and Translational Research. Study subjects will be recruited[unreadable] from the New York Presbyterian Hospital Lung Transplant Program and the Columbia Center for Interstitial[unreadable] Lung Disease, both located at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. The Candidate[unreadable] proposes to conduct a prospective cohort study of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), a[unreadable] devastating disease with a median survival of only 3 years. His preliminary data suggest that non-Hispanic[unreadable] black and Hispanic patients with IPF have worse lung function, lower exercise capacity, and a higher[unreadable] mortality rate than non-Hispanic white patients both at Columbia and in a nationwide study at 94 transplant[unreadable] centers. The proposed study will examine whether delayed referral for subspecialist care and more severely[unreadable] impaired exercise capacity among minorities contribute to survival disparities. Health care access factors at[unreadable] multiple levels will be explored as potential contributors to these disparities. The proposal will prepare the[unreadable] Candidate to design and perform randomized trials of specific interventions aimed at ameliorating racial and[unreadable] ethnic disparities in IPF and other advanced lung diseases.[unreadable] Relevance: The NIH Roadmap and the Institute of Medicine have made research that investigates the[unreadable] underlying causes of health disparities a national public health priority. We propose to identify factors that[unreadable] explain survival disparities in a fatal lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Results of this study[unreadable] will be used to design clinical trials aimed at reducing these disparities.[unreadable]